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Posts Tagged ‘SOTA’

Upcoming Colorado on-air activities of interest

July 23rd, 2013 |

Even with a busy schedule, I am trying to make time for a few on-air activities and these might also interest others.

On Sunday, 4 August listen for Amateur Radio Fun in the Colorado Mountains or perhaps better known as the Colorado 14’er Event. Hams from all around Colorado will climb many of the 14,000 foot mountains (known as 14’ers) as well as other SOTA summits to setup amateur radio stations and get on the air from the top of the world (or at least the top of Colorado). This event started in 1991 by Bob Witte, KØNR and 20+ years later it is still a popular activity.

2012 was the first year this 14’er event incorporated the over 1700 SOTA qualified summits in the state. For those who want to chase from the comfort of their home ham shack, keep in mind that not all stations operating during this event will be doing so under the guidelines of SOTA.

As for me, I plan to activate Genessee Mountain, W0/FR-194 and make it a combined amateur radio outing and picnic with my wife. Genessee Mountain is an “two pointer” SOTA summit with easy access to the top and will be a nice, relaxing morning in the Rocky Mountains.

Just a few days after the 14’er event, my wife and I leave for an almost 3 week vacation in her home country of Belgium and England. It’s been a long, rough and difficult first half of 2013 and we are both looking forward to our vacation.

Once we return from vacation I’ll have less than 36 hours to prepare for the Colorado QSO Party. You might remember last summer I was working at a feverish pace to get the new basement ham shack finished for the 2012 Colorado QSO party. Last year I made 281 contacts and my goal for 2013 is to try to break that number while having fun doing it.

The Colorado QSO party takes place starting 12oo UTC 31 August until 0400 UTC 1 September (Saturday 6 AM – 10 PM MDT) and is sponsored by the Pikes Peak Radio Amateur Association.

Keep your ears open towards Colorado and I hope to work you in either or both events.

Until next time…

73 de KDØBIK (Jerry)

SOTA Expedition to NM and CO

July 15th, 2013 |

Author: Mike AD5A

Last week was a great week. I took a week of vacation and my wife and I headed to the mountains. We flew to Santa Fe, NM on Monday and that night had a nice dinner with local SOTA enthusiasts’,Fred KT5X aka WS0TA, John K1JD and Doc K7SO and their XYL’s. It is always nice to get together with friends with similar interests. We had a lot to talk about as we planned to do two 10 point SOTA summits the next day, a doubleheader if you will. We would work in teams of two and summit the separate peaks at roughly the same time. This would allow us to have summit to summit (S2S) QSO’s with each other. The S2S contacts count toward a separate award within the SOTA program. We would then descend from the peak we were on and ascend the summit that the other team had just activated. You must make 4 QSO's from each summit for it to qualify for activator points.

Since the forests were closed in the Santa Fe area due to high fire risk we went east of Taos, NM. Our activation targets were W5N/SS-019, Peak 10,900 and W5N/SS-024, Sierra de Don Fernando, both are 10 point peaks and are in excess of 10,000 ft. ASL. The activations went well, making HF contacts t qualify the summit and VHF, S2S, contacts with our buddies on the other summits. My portable station, documented in my previous post, worked very well. I used my ATS-4 transceiver, an EFHW strung up in a tree for an antenna and a 500 mAH lipo battery for my power supply.. We had a great time and only had a few rain drops fall on us. We were deep in the forest and the smells and sounds in the mountains are very therapeutic. The plan almost worked to perfection. Fred, Cris (XYL) and myself were on one team and John and Doc on the other. We were down from the second summit when Doc called in on 2m to let us know that they had a flat tire. So we were forced to wait on them in the cool forests of New Mexico.

After successfully activating these two summits we said goodbye to our Santa Fe friends. We then headed to visit Jeff, my old backpacking buddy, and his wife Becky in Red River, NM. There are several 10 pointers in the Red River area and we decided to just do one, Greenie Peak, W5N/SS-015, on Wednesday morning. This would allow us more time to visit and catch up.

Wednesday turned out to be an adventurous day. The Greenie Peak activation went well. There are beautiful views from there and it has a large summit area. Despite poor propagation I quickly filled the log and we determined, with thunder in the distance, we should head down.

Operating on Greenie Peak, NM

My Station is on the right

On the way down however, we saw a sign on the trail to Sawmill Peak. Sawmill is another 10 pointer that I had considered but there is no trail to the top. After seeing the sign, I thought maybe I had found a trail no-one else had found. The 4WD trail dead ended into what appeared to be a hiking trail. It was not, but lead to a bushwhack over 3 lesser peaks to finally reach Sawmill. Again, the summit wasn't planned. We reached the summit, started deploying the antenna and the skies opened up. There are commercial antennas on the top of Sawmill and we found refuge under a pier and beam building there. We got wet. After an hour and a half rain delay we set up again in light rain. My hands were wet and cold and the micro key seemed very small and I had considerable trouble operating it. The rain continued to fall.

I called CQ for 10 minutes before NS7P called and then spotted me. We made a few more QSO's despite the keying problems and qualified he summit. Thanks for those who stuck it out with me. We hiked back in the rain, but with 20 points in the bag rather than 10. Is was a satisfying day, activating Sawmill Mountain, which had only one previous activation, unexpectedly, felt good.

On Thursday morning we bid farewell to our friends and headed north to Colorado. We planned to climb Mt. Sherman which is 14,036 ASL. I previously have climbed 6 of Colorado’s 54 14’ers, but I haven’t done one for more than 15 years. I live near San Antonio, TX, so acclimation to altitude is always a concern. I keep myself in decent shape, but the question in the back of my mind was, “can I still do it”. This climb and activation would culminate a great week of SOTA activations. All four summits for the week were 10 pointers, so going into Friday the plan had gone very well, but the big target for the week was Mt. Sherman, 14,036’ ASL.

My XYL (who has five 14ers to her credit) and I had re-conned the trail-head on Thursday afternoon. There is a gate, open in the summer, and we found that you can drive a long way up the mountain, if you want to, probably close to 12,800 if you have a 4WD. However there were no cars at the trail-head at the time so I wasn't sure where the typical starting point was. So the next morning we arrived at the gate at a little before 7:00 am. There were a handful of cars already parked outside of the gate, but none were parked past it. I didn't want to be the guy that drove his car way up the hill, when everyone else starts at the gate. So we parked there and were quickly on the trail/road up the summit. We followed a local guy, who seemed to know what he was doing, however it turns out that he didn't. We missed the main trail, i.e., the road that goes to 12,800, and is relatively easy hiking. Instead stayed left and climbed up a fairly steep pile of rocks to the old mine. That snafu, while not really adding any distance, probably added 30 minutes to our time. We realized this when we go to the top of that climb when a couple came walking up the road that goes around the rocky slope. Oh well, as my friend Jeff says,” If you know what’s going to happen, it’s not an adventure”.

My XYL Cris on the way up Mt. Sherman

The rest of the climb was just the grind that all 14ers are. You settle into a pace, enjoy the views and try to breathe. We summited at 9:30, a little later than I had hoped, since there was an outside chance I might do Mt. Sheridan, another 10 pointer, which was a across the ridge from Mt. Sherman. We actually felt pretty good at the top, tired by not overly so, and no altitude induced maladies. We enjoyed summiting another 14’er, the views are magnificent.

So now to the radio. I had used an EFHW all week but, in the deluge of rain and hail on top of Sawmill Mountain the previous Wednesday, I had lost the buttons I use as guides for the antenna wire on my crappie pole. So I decided to take my back up Buddi-stick vertical. I've had good luck with this antenna before and it’s very quick to deploy. However, for some reason the SWR was high and I couldn't get it down with quick adjustments of the radials, so my signal suffered in what weren't good conditions to start with. I started well with an S2S with NM5S who was on Mt. Windom in Colorado, another 14er, but then it became hard work. NS7P called in with his usual loud signal and gave me good report and then WA2USA followed with a 229. After that I didn't get any calls for what seemed like an eternity. After several fat finger, altitude induced mistakes, I finally was able to post that I needed one more QSO via my iPhone, and W0MNA, W6UB and ND0C called in. Looking to the west I could see that, while still a ways off, rain clouds were forming. So I packed up. Not a glamorous activation, but it counts. With rain clouds on the horizon, I decided to leave Sheridan for another day.

Operating from the summit of Mt. Sherman

On our way down, at around 13,500 ft. we encountered a husband and wife climbing with their 4 month old daughter. While it is a courageous thing to do, I wondered about the wisdom of such an adventure. My wife said that seeing that made her feel like a wimp. Despite that we pressed forward and made steady progress down the mountain as the rain clouds formed. It always surprises me that people will start up a 14er at mid-morning. We encountered several who were on the way up as we were descending that clearly would not summit before noon, which is the time you should be off the mountain. This time we took the road rather than descend the rocky slope that we needlessly climbed on the ascent and it was fairly easy going once we reached that point.

After we made it back to the car, my XYL and I high-fived, having proven to ourselves that “we still got it”. As we did that, the first rain drop fell. As I shut the door of the SUV, the hail started falling and the clouds let loose. Perfect timing for us, down just in time, but I couldn't help but think about that little 4 month old. I hope the parents were prepared to keep her warm and dry.

The hike is 5.2 miles round trip and ~ 2200 feet vertical gain from the gate. The red track above illustrates our route up and down Mt. Sherman. The left route on the way up is not easiest way up. The red dot on the summit plateau is where I operated from.

So another double header of sorts, another summit activated and finally another 14er climbed. What a great day. For the week, 50 activator points, 76 S2S points and 36 chaser points; not too bad.

AD5A and XYL Cris on the summit of Mt. Sherman

(date and time wrong on the picture)

Upcoming SOTA Activation of W5N/BA-005 on 20 July

July 11th, 2013 |

Author: Sterling NØSSC

If you’re coming from sotawatch.org, welcome!

—Details—
Peak: W5N/BA-005 – 7284 [Socorro Peak]
Location: Socorro, NM, DM64mb
Time: 20 July 2013, 1700 UTC
Bands: anything I can manage. Likely 20m and up, and 2m
Mode: SSB preferred, but I want to try to muddle through some CW. I’ve never done CW without a computer (shame on me) so PSE QRS!

On 20 July, I plan to activate a nearby mountain for SOTA. This isn’t any regular mountain – the some parts of the road up to the peak is owned by EMRTC, or, simply speaking, its a bombing range. Therefore access is permit-only and this plan is tentative at the moment [edit — It’s a go!!]. However, at last night’s Socorro ham club meeting, I met a guy willing to be my escort, so I don’t get blown up, and to make sure I don’t steal anything, I suppose.

Map of the area and the Summit. [http://sotamaps.wsstvc.org/]

BA-005 is known as 7284 on the SOTA map, but the peak is commonly referred to as M-Mountain or Socorro Peak. A nearby peak which has a large, limestone M on it isn’t included in the database because it’s too near the taller peak.They only differ in elevation by about 60 feet.

This shorter peak is the home of the famous Elfego Baca Golf Shoot, where participants tee off at about 1500ft above and 2 miles awaythe hole. I think it’s a par 36 😀

Instead of golf, we’re going to shoot for some QSOs.

I’ll be using my new fangled End Fed Half Wave coupler and some conveniently placed towers. If those don’t work, then I’ll revert to some hamsticks. Stay tuned for more on the antenna project, and the summaryof the activation!

My New SOTA Portable Station

July 6th, 2013 |

Author: Mike AD5A

I few weeks ago I took a trip to Santa Fe, NM for a long weekend and activated a couple of SOTA Summits. I was fortunate to meet Fred, KT5X and John, K1JD. I learned quite a lot from them on portability and efficiency. So motivated by John, I have developed my new portable SOTA Station.

I purchased an ICON portfolio designed to carry an iPad or similar notebook. It is hard sided and the inside lining can hold on to velcro.

The ICON Portfolio closed the handles removed

So I removed the handles and some unnecessary attachments from the inside and laid out my station. With a little help from velcro, everything stays put while transporting and operating.

ICON Portfolio SOTA Station

I mounted the ATS-4, a 500 mAH Lipo and a small container that holds my micro key and also serves to keep any pressure from the sides, when closed, off the radio. I also have my earphones wound on a cool little winder. Just add an antenna and I ready to to call CQ.

The whole thing weighs 18 oz and fits nicely in my backpack. Credit to John, K1JD, who I stole the idea from.

The WG0AT List of SOTA Resources

July 1st, 2013 |

Author: Bob KØNR

Here’s a great set of Summits On The Air (SOTA) links from Steve WG0AT:

Name:	Medium:	Source:	Description:
Official SOTA Site	Web	SOTA UK	Gateway to all official SOTA resources
Rules & Guidelines	PDF	SOTA UK	General Rules & Guidelines for SOTA
WØ SOTA Site	Web	WØ Assoc.Mgr	A good place to start for SOTA info for the WØ region
WØ Association Reference Manual (ARM)	PDF	WØ Assoc.Mgr.	Defines all summits and rules for the WØ Association
SOTA Activator Guidelines	PDF	SOTA UK	The rules summarized on one page
SOTAwatch: Alerts	Web	SOTA UK	Create activation alerts for the world to see (You have to sign-up for a free account)
NA SOTA (Yahoo Group)	Web	3rd party: Yahoo	The NA-SOTA Group on Yahoo is a great place to meet fellow Chasers/Activators, announce activations and share experiences. You have to submit a ‘join’ request before getting access
Results & Summits Database	Web	SOTA UK	Submit activation logs, search for summits, view results etc.
Adventure Radio: Mapview	Web	3rd party: Mario/DC7CCC	Google map overlay. Allows to search for SOTA summits based on Assoc./Region or grid locator.
How to Activate a SOTA Peak	PDF	3rd party: Guy/N7UN	Guy/N7UN’s helpful 4-page summary of the steps involved from planning, posting an activation Alert, conducting the activation itself and post-activation activities.
WØ Summits	Web	WØ Assoc.Mgr.	Find a summit in your WØ region
Colorado 14er Event	Web	14er Event	The web site for the Colorado 14er Event (includes SOTA activations)
SMS Gateway	Phone	SOTA UK: Andy	SMS gateway for selfspotting. You have to register with Andy: mm0fmf_sota (at) intermoose dot com
SOTA Goat iPhone appy	iTunes	iTunes	Spotting app for your iOS device at the iTunes store
SOTA Spot Monitor App	web	Eric KU6J	SOTA spotting app for Windows PCs

Interesting Weekend, Radio and otherwise

July 1st, 2013 |

Author: Mike AD5A

Some weekends are boring or should I say, laid back, while others have lots of interesting turns and twists. This past weekend was one of the latter. The only thing on the calendar was a gig on Saturday night that my band, www.norefundband.com, had in San Antonio, so not much else was contemplated. There was also an IOTA island coming up that I needed, OC-175, DU9/JA1PBV, however space weather didn't look that great and the time on the air for DU9 station wasn't known, so I didn't get my hopes too high.

On Friday afternoon after I got home from work there were some intrepid SOTA activators on and I picked up a few chaser points working those guys. I did some experimentation with telescoping pole anchored EFHW dipole antennas in preparation for my trip next week to NM and CO. I also went through a few guitar drills just to keep the old fingers limber. A relatively quiet evening.

Saturday dawned hot. The temperature would eventually reach 108 degrees, a good day to remain indoors and that is what I did. I was able to work several SOTA summits, but generally took it easy. I had to be at the venue for the show by 5:00 to set up and sound check. Of course everything was late which is typical in a business that is normally, hurry up and wait. The show went extremely well, good crowd and sold a few CD's. Driving home after the show, it was still 94 degrees at 11:30 pm.. The down side of the show was that the IOTA I needed came up around 2300z and was worked by a couple of my buddies. I received an email from Buzz, N5UR, notifying me of what I had missed. Oh well that's how it goes.

Sunday dawned cool and rainy. I made a cup of coffee and sat on the back porch enjoying the change in the weather. It rained for a couple of hours which in Texas, in July, is a nice rain. However, that is when the rain became the enemy. DU9/JA1PBV was spotted on 20m. Great, I come in from the porch and head to the shack, only find that the rain noise was S7. The DU9 had a nice signal, but too much static to hear consistently enough to work, plus he had big EU pile-up as well. So sit and wait, everyone once in a while the rain would diminish, his signal was easily readible, so call a few times, the rain picks back up and the static covers him up again. The cycle repeated itself several times. Frustration. However, patience is often rewarded, while waiting a spot for PJ5/K3RTM on 6m came across the cluster from a ham not too far from me. Wait a minute I need that one, so a I swing the antenna around and there he is, solid signal through the static, a couple of calls and a new one on 6m. Cool. During the DU9 chase, I would periodically see a spot for a SOTA summit and I worked them throughout the pursuit. Back go the DU9. Finally around 1600 the rain relented, however his signal had dropped considerably although still copiable, he was now working EU exclusively, up 2 to 3. My hope was fading. To add to the problem, I couldn't hear who he was working so I was hoping he would find me. Finally, I swung the beam to EU just to hear where the largest concentration of stations were calling and set my 2nd VFO there. I was throwing the heavy artillery at him, 1,200 watts. Sometimes 5 watts is just not enough. Finally at 1653z I broke through the wall and got a QSO, hallelujah!!!.

So all is well that ends well. A rare IOTA in the log, a new 6m band country and a 136 SOTA chaser points for the weekend. A 108 degree day followed by an 85 degree day. A successful gig, I got a haircut, changed the oil in the Jeep and washed it after the rain stopped. A very interesting weekend.

Oh, the DU9 showed up again on 17m CW later Sunday afternoon, working up 1. I got him on the first call. Go figure.

New Colorado 14er Event Shirt

June 30th, 2013 |

Author: Bob KØNR

Thanks to Steve WG0AT, we now have a new design for the Colorado 14er Event Shirt. Steve gen’d up a new logo that has the Colorado 14er Event blended with Summits On The Air (SOTA), that is available on a variety of t-shirts, a coffee mug and maybe a few other items. The logo, shown to the left, is a fantastic graphic featuring Ham Radio at Altitude.

Go to Cafepress to view and purchase the items that are available.

73, Bob K0NR